
Glass. 



Book. 



,vn'6 



DISCOURSE 



ON THE 



DEATH 



OF 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN, 



DELIVERED IN THE 



FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, 



OF 



SCHENECTADY, N. Y. 
By rev. DENIS WORTMAN, 

Pastor Elect. 

Sabbath Evening, April 16, 1865. 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS & COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
1865. 



(fyi H^^ i^^Lc L^-v^M^y- ^v 






,3'iirdi'^^^ 






DISCOURSE 



ON THE 



DEATH 



OF 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN, 



DELIVEBED IK THE 



FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 



OF 



SCHENECTADY, N. Y. 



By rev. DENIS WORTMAN, 

Pastor Sjleot. 



Sabbath Evening, April 16, 1865. 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS & COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
1865. 



<^^^OFCONG,?,^^. 




y^ 



.8 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Schenectady, N. Y., April \7th, 1865. 

To the Rev. Denis Wortman, Pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church of 
Schenectady : 
Dear Sir — Believing that the sermon preached by you last evening, on the occasion 
of the death of our late lamented President, Abraham Lincoln, may be read with 
interest and profit, not only by those who listened to its delivery but by all lovers 
of our common country, we, the subscribers, respectfully request a copy of the same 
for publication. 



PLATT POTTER. 
S. H. JOHNSON, 
HOWARD BARRINGER, 
O. F. ELLIOTT, 
H. M. CRANE, 
ABRM. DOTY, 

D. C. SMITH, 

B. A. MYNDERSE, 
J. G. VAN VOAST, 

C. E. KINGSBURY, 
O. S. LUFPMAN, 
WILSON DAVIS, 

E. NOTT SCHERMERHORN, 
HENRY H. SWART, 

J AS. H. BARHYTE, 
H. S. BARNEY, 
JOHN GILMOUR, 
ERNESTUS PUTNAM, 
A. H. TILLINGHAST, 
LAURENS P. HICKOK, 
J. A. DE REMER, 
JOHN FOSTER, 
J. W. VEEDER, 
G. LANSING OOTHOUT, 
L. A. YOUNG, 
T. H. REEVES, 
JOHN McNEE, 
JAMES G. CAW, 



C. THOMPSON, 
SIMON C. GROOT, 
JAMES VAN KURAN, 
JACOB VEDDER, 
JOS. HORSFALL, 

T. W. MAIRS, 
T. W. McCAMUS, 

D. P. FORREST, 
J. V. VROOMAN, 
CHAS. THOMPSON, 
JNO. LACY, 
WILLIAM WELLS, 
J. W. JACKSON, 
CASPER F. HOAG, 
TAYLER LEWIS, 
BENJ. STANTON, 
ABM. J. SWITS, 
WILLIAM C. MACY, 
S. V. SWITS, 

R C. DORN, 
P. W. HOLMES, 
ANSON DU BOIS, 
ANDREW T. VEEDER, 
J. S. LANDON, 
JONATHAN PEARSON, 
D. M. KITTLE, 
A. M. VEDDER, 
SAMUEL WINGATE. 



To Professors Hickok, Lewis, Stanton and others, Judges Potter, Johnson and 
others. Revs. DuBois and others, Drs. Vedder, Mynderse and others, Messrs. 
C. and C. Thompson, Smith, Hoag, McCamus, Groot, Vedder, Holmes and 
other fellow citizens of Schenectady : 

Gentlemen: 

I cannot but be very grateful for your kind appi-eciation of the discourse, which, at 
your request, I now put into your hands. But far deeper than any sense of personal 
appreciation is that grateful emotion, which every patriot feels at each new demon- 
stration that, however people may have differed before, now, in this time of the 
nation's bei-eavement, without distinction of party or of sect, they come together in 
sentiment, speech, and action, to the support of the governmeat and the assertion of 
its authority. 

In regard to the present discourse, delivered only thirty-six hours after the death of 
the President, it was, of course, prepared in greatest haste and under intensest excite- 
ment, an unutterable grief and equal indignation alternating and commingling. Never 
were the people shocked with so great a horror ; they shook their heads in doubtful 
augury of the future ; waiting anxiously for each new telegram from Washington!, 
they yet almost feared to receive it, lest it should tell them of further assassinations. 
This will not, of course, be understood as an apology for any utterances contained in 
the discourse, for on calm review I see nothing to be changed so far as the sentiments 
are concerned. But, to those of you who, differing widely from some of its views, 
have yet expressed yourselves so kindly concerning it and joined in the request for its 
publication, I wish to return my sincere thanks, that you appreciated the circumstances 
under which it was delivered, and cared not for smaller differences iu your over- 
whelming distress at the nation's loss. 

Again thanking you, dear sirs, for yoiur kind appreciation, and regretting that to 
so great an occasion I have rendered such poor justice, and with you, rejoicing in tha 
prospect of the speedy pacification and salvation of our country, 
I am, very respectfully yours, 

DENIS WOETMAN. 

SchenectadYj N. Y., April 19, 1865. 



DISCOURSE. 



" How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle 1" — 2d Sam., 1: 25. 

When the Princess Charlotte, daughter of Queen Caro- 
line and George the Fourth, one of the most accomplished 
princesses of England, died, in 1817, Eobert Hall, ex- 
pressing his sympathy with the universal national grief, 
in One of his masterly discourses, commenced by saying: 
" It has been the approved practice of the most enlight- 
ened teachers of religion, to watch for favorable occasions 
to impress the mind with the lessons of wisdom and piety, 
with a view to which they have been wont to advert 
to recent events of an interesting order, that, by striking 
in with a train of reflection already commenced, they 
might the more easily and forcibly insinuate the instruc- 
tion it was their wish to convey." 

Never, perhaps, was there an occasion to which these 
words would more fittingly apply than the one on which 
we are met to-night. The week began with the merry 
peal of bells, and the joyous boom of cannon. It ends 
with solemn tollings and minute firings, that proclaim a 
nation's grief. Just as the last Sabbath was merging into 
the week, the inhabitants of our cities were aroused from 
their slumbers, to illuminate their houses, to throng the 
streets, to press each other's hands in a gladness that words 
could not express; the week closed and another Sab- 
bath dawned, they pressed each other's hands again in 



6 

an anguisli and a horror unutterable ; but mingling with 
the anguish a resolution that, come what will now, what 
the republic has gained, the republic shall not be suf- 
fered to lose. So completely overmastering have been 
and still are the interests at stake, so profound was our 
joy, and now so jn'ofound our grief, that, even would we 
turn to other themes for thought, the inexorable logic of 
events, the right and healthy impulses of our own hearts, 
would force us back. 

Scarcely ever has such an event as this assassination of 
President Lincoln occurred — surely never in our country 
and in this century — when such rude violence has been 
done to the human feelings ; when upon such a scene of 
joy has burst such a sudden and despairing grief. It is 
as though the very midnight, illumined by no star, were 
without a moment's warning to eclipse the mid-day bright- 
ness. 

We sometimes read in novels, sometimes we hear in 
real life, of occasions when, before the sacred altar, a 
group are gathered to witness the solemnities of a mar- 
riage, when mutual pledges of love are made, and the 
blessings of God's mercy are pronounced on the sacred 
union of two loving hearts, two earnest lives, and all at 
once there is the rude intrusion of an uninvited, unex- 
pected guest, and death claims the fair bride or the 
rejoicing bridegroom as his own. I suppose that there is 
scarcely any other scene so tragical as that. And yet 
something like this, only infinitely more grave, is that 
horrid tragedy that has just appalled the whole American 
heart. The North and the South — separated for a time, 
not so much of their own free will as because acted upon 
and influenced by wicked intriguers — were about coming 
together again; they were just about plighting to each 
other their mutual faith and troth. I stretch not the 
figure when I say, that to the one the other was pledging 
all its wealth and love, ready to endow it with all its 



worldly goods, hesitating at no sacrifice. Nay, the bene- 
dictions of God's peace were already falling upon them. 
God's appointed minister had already said, in presence 
of the bystanding nations, "whom God hath joined to- 
gether let not man put asunder," the congratulations 
were already begun — when the foul assassin stole upon 
the scene, and in the presence of all this rejoicing, struck 
down the officiating servant of Jehovah ! 

Never had any of us such deep and fervent joy as this last 
week made our bosoms throb and pulses beat. It was not 
that ephemeral joy that expresses itself in words. It was 
too deep for that, too thoughtful, too reverential, too sin- 
cere. We were looking with an equal amazement and 
gratitude over what the Lord had done for us in the last 
four years. Four years ago to-day, and none of us knew 
whether we had a country and government or not. The 
government seemed vacillating, the people were utterly 
without heart. But, four days passed on — the twentieth 
of April came, and the nation, like a giant roused from 
sleep, leaped to the work to which the President sum- 
moned it. Through what alternating hopes and fears, 
and victories and defeats, we passed up to this time, this is 
all too familiar to us to admit of recital here. But we had 
passed through many crises, sometimes on the verge of 
revolution at home — sometimes on the point of entering 
into strife with foreign powers — sometimes almost giving 
the struggle over — some considering that after three 
years and a half of trial the war had proved a failure — 
sometimes, but for the firmness of the President, on the 
point of concluding a disgraceful armistice and peace with 
traitors yet in arms. But these crises had all been safely 
passed ; the war seemed nearly over, and peace arrived ; 
and now the work of reconstruction, once appearing so 
difficult a matter to settle, appeared to be fast settling 
itself. Now it is, that, trusted so entirely by the great 



8 

body of the people, and by bis last acts of magnanimity 
securing the admiration and regard of all, he is at last 
struck down by the hand of an assassin. Not slain in hon- 
orable battle — neither he nor his great associate in public 
trust. The hateful treason that began the war with acts 
of cowardice and meanness — that next slaughtered negro 
garrisons after they had surrendered, and by slow starva- 
tion tortured to the death threescore thousand of our 
Union soldiers — retains its character still ; and its cow- 
ardly assassins, providing first, by fleet horses, for their 
own escape, press their way, one of them, by stealth, 
behind the President, and lodges the fatal bullet in the 
brain that had recently planned such kindness toward 
the nation's enemies ; and the other, by false pretenses 
and rude violence, into the chamber of the Secretary, and 
raises his dagger against a helpless, almost dying man ! 
The Chief Magistrate whom, in his touching letter to his 
clergy, the Episcopal Bishop of this State applies the high 
title of " the beloved and revered," is dead. His chief 
minister, the one upon whom he most relied, lies at this 
moment, in a most critical condition. God grant it may 
not be the article of death. 

The loss to us may well be considered almost utc- 
parable. Of the foreign secretary, as his recovery is not 
past all hope, it is well that I should say but little. I 
know that he has had his enemies. I know that he has 
not been without his faults; and yet, impartial history 
shall have it to record that few men have labored more 
zealously and wisely for their country than has he. l^ew 
York may well glory in her son. With a vigilance that 
has never slept and a zeal that has never wearied, he has 
watched the interests of his country; and while foiling 
the plots of conspirators at home, has outwitted the 
devices of enemies abroad. Should it become our sad 
lot to have to mourn his premature decease, our mourn- 
ing shall be for one whom, probably, no living statesman 



equals in diplomacy, and few among the dead have sur- 
passed. Whether he shall die or survive, let the nation 
do him honor, that, when a few years since he failed to 
reach the first honor in the gift of the people, without a 
feeling of jealousy, he' came to the help of his successful 
competitor, and to the rescue of the imperiled republic. 

And as to President Lincolis", what shall I say ? What 
can I ? Not because there is so little, but so much to say, 
and so little heart left to say it. The soul is sometimes 
so overwhelmed with grief, and dismay, that it refuses to 
suggest a language. And to-night, I feel, for one, more 
like sitting down, and with you, weeping over the nation's 
loss, than attempting to express it in words. 

I believe, my friends, that since the days of Washing- 
ton, we have not had a purer statesman, a wiser, a nobler, 
a more Christian man at the head of this government, 
than the one whom, with such almost unanimous voice, 
his fellow citizens summoned for the second time to be 
their President. He needs no better praise than that 
which is now given him, even by his political opponents. 
It is not difficult to say what impartial history shall say 
of Abraham Lincoln. It will say that he fe^pwHthe man 
whom this nation, at this time, could least afford to lose. 
He rose from the lower ranks of society through the 
intermediate to the highest, and so was prepared to un- 
derstand the wants and the feelings of all. He was 
singularly free from prejudices, listened respectfully to 
arguments upon either side, and had a shrewd, common 
sense, and an instinctive discernment of the right and 
true, which were very like to lead him to a just conclu- 
sion. He had a vein of humor which marked him from 
all other men in his position, and lost him, perhaps, the 
reputation of official dignity ; and yet this very humor, 
which in most important emergencies could not refrain 
from making the witty repartee or telling the pointed 
anecdote (always to the point), undoubtedly helped him 
2 



10 

to endure tliose fatigues and cares under which he would 
otherwise long since have sunken, without the aid of the 
assassin. To this was added an earnest honesty of pur- 
pose which was early recognized by all, and gave him a 
popular sobriquet which no man, however great, need 
look upon with disdain. And these virtues were all 
crowned by another. No one of us will ever forget 
the request he made of his friends and of the na- 
tion, as he left his Springfield home to undertake 
the arduous duties of the Presidency. The entire nation 
felt safer when they heard Abeaham Lincoln ask them 
to pray God to sustain him. He felt his dependence upon 
the most High and dared not accept so lofty a trust with- 
out the blessing of the Almighty. Most ardently did the 
people respond to that request, so unusual from men in 
public political life. And yet his own testimony at a 
later period was that that was far below the point to 
which God's grace at last raised him. From more than 
one source it comes that of late he has been an humble, 
believing follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.* His lan- 
guage addressed to one clergyman I cannot quote in his 
very words, and yet 1 am confident that they are nearly 
the very same. To this clergyman, putting to him the 
direct question, whether he was a Christian or not, he 
replied : " When I left Springfield I was not a Christian, 
I was not until I visited the battle field of Gettysburg ; 



* It has been mentioned to me that I said nothing about the circumstance of the Pre- 
sident's dying in a theatre. Certainly I think that needed not mention. It were in 
poor taste to mention it then. That was a small matter to bring up in such a terrible 
time as this, when the heart was petrified with horror at this dark crime. I will 
only say in regard to it, that it is a great pity that our public men should feel them- 
selves required to attend places of public amusement that some of them would not 
attend but for the desire the public have to see them. The President, on this occa- 
sion, did not wish to go, and postponed going half an hour, and proposed postponing 
it further still, and would not have gone at all — his heart was set upon other matters — 
but the same kindness of nature that was then impelling him to measures of mercy 
toward the erring South, impelled him to go to the theatre, that the people who ex- 
pected to see General Grant there might not be disappointed. 



11 

but when I visited tliat spot, and saw around me the 
remains of our slaughtered heroes, then and there I con- 
secrated myself to Christ." Yes, let every American 
citizen know, that in the great and good man, now bru- 
tally murdered — and of whom some dare to say, and 
among ourselves, that it should have happened long ago 
— let every American citizen know that in Mr. Lixcolx 
he had a President who feared God, who loved the Lord 
Jesus, who depended for help upon the Holy Ghost, in- 
dulged an humble confidence in the Eedeemer, who daily 
sought, upon the bended knee, a blessing on the land 
he was endeavoring so faithfully to serve. But, my 
friends, all these things you know, and the nation knows. 
That they know this, and realize in his death their loss, 
is but too clearly revealed in the deep gloom which set- 
tles upon every countenance. You have been in the 
house of mourning just after a death has taken place, 
and before the funeral, and have seen one member of the 
family after another come home, and, oh! how sad is 
the greeting at each fresh arrival. Each sees imijrinted 
on the other's face their mutual loss ; and the silent pres- 
sure of the hand and the standing tear betray the feeling 
which rises in the heart of each. And yesterday and 
to-day, my friends, we met and meet as brothers who 
have lost a common friend, aye, a common father. We 
meet, we press the hand, we speak but few words, we 
scarce drive back the starting tear. Yes, and well may 
we weep, for a nation sits in sackcloth. The .homely, 
the honest, the genial, the kind, the wise Abraham 
LixcoLX is no more. The patriot, the statesman, the 
Christian, is dead. ]S"o more shall his prudence strike the 
happy balance between opposing theorists. No more 
shall his integrity, so thorough, establish and confirm 
the faith of the American nation. " His warm, kindly, 
generous heart beats no more ; his cool, deliberate, wise 



12 

and noble brain thinks for us no more. His services 
to bis nation and to mankind are ended, and be bas 
gone to bis God and bis reward. Tbe tears and lamenta- 
tions of twenty millions of people, wbo are stricken as tbey 
never were before by tbe deatb of a single man, follow 
bim to bis bier, as tbeir gratitude and lasting services 
will follow bis fame tbrougb all time to come." 

And now, my friends, witb wbat otber feelings tban 
tbose of most natural grief and borror, are we to con- 
template tbe awful fact of tbe assassination of tbe Presi- 
dent? 

I would say, in tbe first place, let us not forget to be 
tbankful tbat tbe assassination bas come no sooner. Let 
us be tbankful tbat be was spared to us so long, and tbat 
ere be died be was permitted to see so mucb accomplisbed 
in tbe way of tbe pacification of bis country. 

Called from a most private life to tbe bigbest and most 
responsible position in tbe gift of tbe American people, 
be found bimself tbe acknowledged President of only a 
jjortion of tbe States. He found bis navy bad been sent ^Z 
on bootless errands to remote seas; tbe army ^^tling ' / 
reduced in strengtb, and tbe most of it, witb tbe principal 
munitions of war, among a people wbo threatened a rebel- 
lion. To add to bis embarrassment, be found many of tbe 
public arsenals, armories, custom bouses and fortresses in 
tbe soutb surrendered, or fast surrendering to tbe armed 
rebellion. He was in daily receipt of letters containing 
tbe resignations of oflScers in tbe two arms of tbe j)ublic 
service. He bebeld senators and representatives braudisb- 
ing tbe weapons of insurrection, and burling about tbem, 
in tbe very capital, in wild defiance, tbe fagots of civil 
war. Tbeir bitter threats be saw listened to by many 
from bis own section without a whisper of rebuke, aye, 
witb a poorly concealed satisfaction. On tbe one band, 
be was pressed by some to adopt measures tbat, in tbeir 



13. 

radical violence, would have proven ruinous ; and, on 
the other hand, he was pressed to adopt measures that, 
if adopted, would have sacrificed the honor of the nation- 
al government; nay, there were those who, in frantic 
madness, called upon him to resign ; to resign an ofiice 
with which the people, in the sacred right of the bal- 
lot, had intrusted him, to resign it, though it should bring 
upon the country an eternal infamy and degradation. 
But, guided by his own moderation and by God's good 
spirit, to the adoption of honorable and patriotic and 
Avise measures, he saw, at last, in the freeness with 
which the i)eople offered their treasure and their blood, 
a prophecy of the salvation of the government. Oh, 
with what joy must he have heard the nation's cry : " We 
are coming to help you ! " and then casting his eye out 
from the capitol, with what grateful, unutterable joy 
must he have seen coming from cities and hamlets, from 
farms and factories, from churches and Sabbath Schools, 
the legion host, rushing to the rescue of the old flag ! 
And then the country was saved. It had committed 
itself to the maintenance of its unity and the righteous 
cause of self defense, and from that purpose no enemy 
could daunt it, no bribes tempt it. But I hasten on. 

It was his privilege to see the honor of that flag vindi- 
cated on sea and land, at home and abroad ; and by and 
by another question came up that required the greatest 
prudence in its management, and upon which opinions 
widely differed and differ still even among good men. I 
mean the question of the southern slaves. He felt th^t 
the war had its origin in the interests of that institution 
which was keeping nearly four million men, women, and 
children in bondage. He knew that it was by the cruel 
spirit and uncontrollable ambition that grew up out of 
that system that the rebellion had been at first inaugurat- 
ed, and many unwilling people and unwilling states 



14 

forced into a i^articipation with it. He knew that of these 
four millions, nearly every one was a Unionist, as has 
since been shown beyond all cavil by the slowness with 
which they went into the Confederate army and the zeal 
with which they enlisted in our own, by the kindness with 
which they have always assisted our prisoners when 
endeavoring to escape, and by the joy with which they 
have everywhere hailed the approach of the Union army. 
He knew that every one of these had from God the 
right to be a free man, and yet, sworn to obey the Con- 
stitution, he felt that by that Constitution certain civil 
rights were guarantied to each state with which no other 
state had a right to interfere by legislation or by force. 
Therefore, though his heart was all the time in full sym- 
pathy with Liberty, he felt that he was under restraining 
bonds. These, however, he at last saw clearly were more 
than restrictions upon himself. They were impediments 
to the nation in its struggle. Foreign nations threatened 
war at a time when we could not have met them. Their 
plea for interference was that the National Govern- 
ment, just as much as the so-called Confederate, was 
fighting in the support of this institution. Probably 
none of us who live in private life know the full peril in 
which we then stood from that cause. Even more, proba- 
bly, than by this, the President was constrained to strike 
slavery dead by the consideration that justice demanded 
it. He was of that high moral tone which instinctively 
and thoroughly feels the justness of the sentiment : 

" Oh, a just cause stands sure and win abide, 
Legions of angels fight upon its side." 

And yet he hesitated because of the constitutional 
guarantee. Then it was that the question again came 
up whether, after all, it could not and ought not to be 
done. Admitting the original right of those States to 
hold slaves, was not that right forfeited when they passed 



15 

their ordinances of secession, and thereby broke loose 
from every constitutional obligation? In other words, 
when they threw away their constitutional obligations, 
did they not throw away their constitutional privileges ? 
And, again, if those Southern States looked upon slaves 
as chattels, and if as they maintained, the Federal Con- 
stitution regarded them so too, then why should they not 
be treated like all other chattels in war ? If it was right 
to seize other j)roperty as contraband of war, why not 
declare this contraband as well? Yet, further, if the 
rebellion undertook to destroy the Constitution and the 
Union for the sake of slavery, was not the President 
impowered, nay, was it not his duty, to destroy slavery 
in order to save the Constitution and the Union ? And 
finally, if, with the extremists on the other side, it be 
thought that these were at best doubtful prerogatives, then 
in the name of all that is sacred, might not the Union 
and Liberty have the advantage of the doubt ? I submit 
whether the President would not have rendered himself 
culpable if he had not yielded to such considerations. 
Thus, prompted by a sense of justice first, impelled next 
by a foreign necessity, and warranted in the act by the 
very fact of the secession, he issued his two proclama- 
tions, first, as it were timorously, at least conditionally, 
giving them three months grace in which to reconsider 
and return ; and next, when these conditions were not 
met, grandly and unalterably declaring the slave, and so 
the nation, free — I know that it created a great disrup- 
tion at the Korth, but it dispossessed foreign nations of 
their plea for interference, and if it made him many ene- 
mies, it assured to him the friendship of four million 
slaves, and to the Eepublic their helpful aid — not to 
take into account at all the invariable gain of godliness ; 
and when, in after years, the passions of the present hour 
shall have subsided, this, I firmly believe, will be consid- 



16 

ered the great act of liis administration, that he made 
America free ! Most appropriate it is, that, having been 
the great Proclaimer of Liberty in America, his iinlooked 
for and grand reward should be that he has fallen its 
most conspicuous Martyr ! 

We pass on, turning again to the military situation. 
It was the high privilege of President Lincoln to see the 
army and navy, after many discouragements, come to 
what might be called the era of its swift successes, when 
every mouth, by its grand victories, demonstrated the stu- 
pendous genius of our new military commanders, and the 
certain triumph of our arms. Port after ijort was seized ; 
Thomas almost annihilated the rebel army of the West ; 
Sherman tramped his legions right across the Confede- 
racy; Sheridan with his horsemen, swept, like a very 
angel of destruction, around the vicinity of the capital ; 
and, at last, the indomitable hero of City Point rolled 
his armies like a crushing avalanche, upon his confronting 
enemy. The chief military captain of the South was 
captured, his army taken, and with him paroled. The 
late President had already visited the rebel capital, and 
there held out the olive branch of peace. He returned 
to AYashington, contemplating the work as almost done ; 
in accordance with the advice of his great chieftain, had 
already ordered the conscrix:)tion, and even enlistments to 
cease. His heart was full of benignity to those who had 
so guiltily, so terribly erred. It seemed as though it 
were in his heart to give a free pardon to all who had 
engaged in the rebellion — even to the arch-traitor of 
them all ; and then, when bent upon such clemency and 
mercy, he was shot down by the assassin. But he lived 
long enough to see the day when the tattered old flag of 
Sumter was replaced, in the midst of prayers, even as in 
the midst of prayers it had been defended — lived to see, as 
we trust, the full, clear dawning of the day of sacred 



17 

Peace and sacred Liberty. That he was spared to us so 
long, by his wise counsels to assist in accomplishing all 
this, let us not fail to praise God, even in our tears. 

And now, my friends, as to the Future — let us not 
darkly despair. Let us bear in mind that He who claims 
our thanksgiving for the past, has an equal claim upon our 
trust for the future. God has not just saved this land 
in order to let it revert back to destruction. Too many 
interests center in this Eepublic to suffer it to die. As He 
said to his chosen land in an ancient century, so he seems 
to say to his chosen land in this century : " Since thou 
wast precious in my sight; since thou hast been honorable, 
and I have loved thee : therefore will I give men for thee, 
and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I 
will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee out of 
the west ; I will say to the north, give up ; and to the 
south, keep not back. * * * * This people have I 
formed for myself: they shall show forth my praise." 
I believe He means it for the possession of his Son, and 
to this end He will be its guardian and keeper. 

And so, my friends, I see no cause for despair or dis- 
heartenment. God putteth down one but he raiseth up 
another. He keeps men here only that they may serve 
his purpose ; then he removes them. He had a special 
work for our late President to do. That work is done. 
He has another work now perhai)s, and for that other 
work appoints another man. I know how bitterly we 
feel the loss — I know how it seems to cast us into an 
ungovernable anarchy — but the Lord hath done as 
seemed best in his sight, and what we know not now we 
shall know hereafter. 

In regard to the newly inaugurated President, let me 
speak kindly, yet candidly. There is no need of conceal- 
ing the painful distrust with which the public mind has 
been filled since the unfortunate transaction that occurred 



18 

at his inauguration into the Vice-Presidency. All right 
feeling men experienced a deep mortification then, and 
consequently a certain want of confidence now. There 
are considerations, however, which tend greatly to relieve 
this public distrust. 

I will not now say anything about extenuating circum- 
stances attendant upon that sad occasion, since I cannot 
authoritatively deny or aflSrm. There is' that which gives 
good promise of him, however, in the testimony of such 
a man as General Ambrose Burnside. To a gentleman 
who met him but yesterday, in New York city, he aflQrmed 
that he knew Andrew Johnson well. He was military 
governor of East Tennessee when he (Gen. B.) com- 
manded in the west. He met him at Louisville and 
Cincinnati, at all hours of the day and night, in most 
important consultations, and testifies that he never saw 
him taste intoxicating liquors pf any kind, and never 
saw him when he thought he had been taking them. He 
was no drunkard then; and, concludes this Christian 
general, "he is a firm, loyal and talented statesman." 
There is something very admirable in a remark of the 
late President. After alluding, in warmest terms, to his 
previous great services to the country, he said : " He is 
too much of a man for the American i^eoiyle to cast Mm off 
for a single errors Indeed, my friends, even though 
there should prove to be no extenuating circumstances, 
I shall not be surprised, if from that very scene of his 
self-disgrace shall come a clearly visible good. But for 
that event he might come to his present position with too 
great self-reliance. Let us trust that he comes to it now 
with an humbler and a wiser heart, resolved to undo his 
past reproach, by rendering all the more faithful service 
to the nation, and by making his life, in that high position, 
an illustrious example, to be emulated by his country- 
men. If then, there be this resolution formed within 
him, as who will doubt is the case? then, how will it 



19 

grow the stronger, if nurtured in the fond hopes of the 
people ! Our course, then, is plain. We will not cast him 
off for this single fault. No ! no ! Eaised by the voice 
of the American people to the second position in the 
government, and now by the Providence of God raised to 
the first, we will not greet him with frowns, and insinua- 
tions, and fears. We honor him for that great energy 
and industry which have made of a very poor man and 
very illiterate, one of our wisest statesmen ; we honor him 
yet 'more, that, born and bred in a slave State, he yet, 
when secession came, breasted the storm, and risked life 
and all for Liberty's sake ; and now we will pray for him 
as we prayed for his predecessor, and if he has sinned, 
remembering that it is but human to err, we will tell him 
that we forgive it all, if he will now prove true to duty, 
as he will ; we will rally round him as our President, and 
charge him that he let not the flag be furled till the last 
rebel has submitted or been slain ! * 

Our duty, my friends, becomes very clear, as Christians 
and as men. It is for us all to cast aside personal preju- 
dices, to cease bandying among ourselves opprobrious 
epithets, and to come as one man to the support of the 
powers that be, and are ordained of God. What special 



* One word iu regard to the new President. At the time of writing, the general be- 
lief was, that at his inauguration into the Vice-Presidency he was intoxicated, and 
because of an indulgence in intoxicating liquors that could not be excused. Sach was 
my own belief, for I feared that the other stones set afloat about his illness and the 
overdose of stimulant, were intended not to state the truth, but to cover his fault. I 
therefore spoke very frankly concerning it Since the Sabbath, the story of his ill- 
ness has come on new authorities, many of them apparently almost official. Upon 
this ground I have been advised by a friend, for whose judgment I have very great 
regard, to change somewhat that portion of the discourse relating to that event, to 
suit the new developments of the case. At first, I thought to do so. But on further 
reflection it has seemed best that, with very slight and unimportant changes, the whole 
address, in this and in other parts, should stand ju-st as it was delivered. 

The testimony grows stronger, however, every day, that Andrew Johnson has been, 
at least for the great part of his life, of strictly temperate habits. He is understood 
to feel now the greatest sorrow that such an unfortunate circumstance should have 
occurred. 

For great energy of character and great devotion to country, few men deeerve 



20 

measures the officers of government should now adopt 
can best be determined by themselves, since they know 
most about the views and feelings of the southern people 
(according to which they must somewhat adapt their 
action), and the necessities of our own condition. Never 
has the northern mind been in a condition to respond so 
readily to whatever the government might do as now. 

For one, I doubt very much whether we shall, whether 
we can be so lenient as we had hoped to be. It was in 
the heart of the President, it was in the heart of all this 
great people, to forgive as no executors of justice ever 
forgave before. And even now, amid the heated passions 
of the hour, we do not seek revenge ; even now, we make 
no insane threats of extermination; even now, we know 
how to forgive, and long to do so if we can consistently 
with the demands .of law and the safety of the land. 

But upon our unwilling hearts we bear the pressure 
of a certain necessity for judgment. Here comes a crime 
which cannot go unpunished. I sui)pose that no one 
doubts that, if the doer of this cruel deed is overtaken, 
he will and ought to suffer the full penalty of the law. 
But, there are those who have sinned more deeply than he. 
If the penalty be death for the murderer of the President, 
how shall he be permitted to suffer less who has made a 

greater praise than he. He was bom a poor white of the South ; when an apprentice 
to a tailor he learned to read at night, after working through the day ; up to the time 
of his marriage his education was limited to reading, when his wife gave him further 
instruction; when thirty -two years of age he served as Presidential Elector; when 
thirty -three he entered the United States Congress. For ten years he served there ; 
then he was twice elected Governor of Tennessee, and, in 1857, entered the United 
States Senate. Few men have shown such tremendous energy and perseverance. 
As to his patriotism, it has been tried, and has stood up when that of many other 
men has gone under. His speeches since his election justify the hope of his countr}^- 
nien that they have at the head of their government a man of unflinching nerve, of 
most thorough loyalty, and great executive ability. The heart of the people is already 
warming very kindly toward him ; they are determined to stand by him in his great 
und unexpected responsibilities ; and every Christian will pray that God will inspire 
him to such measures as may bring a speedy peace to our land, and insure its con- 
tinuance. 



21 

stab at the heart of the Eepublic? If to satisfy the 
demands of the rebellion the President of the United 
States and his ministers must be infamously slain, then 
to satisfy the demands of this government, death, and 
such death as traitors die, must fall upon the authors and 
perpetuators of the rebellion, should they fall into our 
hands.* How far justice must go I will not attempt to 
say ; where we may draw the line of life and death I sup- 
pose none of us at this moment are prex)ared to say ; but, 
the indignant and outraged spirit of the Eepublic, reason, 
religion and law, all declare that with the life of this 
country, there shall be no more trifling. We are engaged 
in a matter of life and death, and we shall suffer neither 
the conduct nor the speech of treason. Henceforth let it 
be fairly understood, this drapery of mourning and this 
national emblem enfolding each other, and suspended 
over this and other pulpits of our land, whilst they mean 
our deep sorrow over the foul murder of" our President, 
mean also an intensified patriotism, mean, as they never 
meant before, law, liberty, life, and that at every hazard 
they shall be preserved. We shall yet show mercy. We 
know what multitudes have been misguided. They may 
claim more than pardon — for them we have pity and 
charity. We know that many have misled others, many 
of them we can and probably shall forgive. But leaving 
such distinctions to be made by the government, the time 
has come, when, with one voice, the American people, not 
mad, but just, not violent, but in earnest, declare that the 
rebellion must immediately end; and that those, who, 



* In the sermon as delivered we mentioned only Mr. Davis. As we hear that some 
one has objected to punishing him with death, we put the plural for the singular, and 
say " authors and perpetuators." They have all, according to the law of the land 
and the testimony of every loyal heart, forfeited their lives. And whether they 
shall be few or many that must suffer the penalty, depends just on this — what the 
present and future tranquillity of the country may require ; and, as President Johnson 
says, to stamp it as the sentiment to which the American people will always hereafter 
hold, that treason is a crime, and cannot be committed without penalty. 



22 

after a certain appointed time, sliall be found with the 
sword in hand, by the sword shall perish. 

There is a significance, my friends, in the day on which 
the President was smitten down. It was on the day 
popularly called Good Friday; observed throughout a 
good part of the Christian world, as the day on which the 
Savior suffered the passion of the cross. It was the sad- 
dest of all days. The disciples were left alone, Mary 
without her son. The heavens draped themselves in 
mourning, and the very earth heaved with its groaning. 
It must needs have been that Christ should die. But the 
third day came, and He rose from the dead, having tri- 
umphed over death and hell. Out of his passion, came 
great joy. Out of his death there came a resurrection 
and eternal life, and a world reconciled to God ! 

And so, evermore, after death thajf comes a resurrec- 
tion. Out of the passion of this present hour, there 
comes joy. Though the heavens are very dark, and the 
earth sobs again in anguish, and a nation grieves, God's 
angels come down from heaven again, and they wait at 
the door of the sepulchre, and they shall roll away the 
stone, and the nation that in the dying of its President 
was thought dead, shall come forth from the grave, 
leaving behind it all the trammels of the tomb, and shall 
walk forth before the people and the world with the re- 
surrected body and the resurrected life. And so, once 
more, out of the very agonies of its present crucifixion, 
shall come the glories and the greatness of the new na- 
tional life. And let us trust the nation sliall never more 
Icnoiv death ! 



